The postal service receives millions of pieces of mail every day. This mail is then sorted and transported to various destinations. Historically, the sorting process has included placing a sorting tray on a shelf located below hanging dividers, which provide for divisions within the tray. The mail is placed into the divisions according to destination. After the sorting process is complete, the tray is removed from the shelf and from below the hanging dividers to be loaded on vehicles or emptied into mail bags.
Unfortunately, the existing system may be problematic. For example, a space exists between the hanging dividers and a base of the tray because the hanging dividers are not connected to the tray. This space may be large enough to allow mail to slip underneath the hanging dividers from an intended division into a different division or into no specific division at all. Incorrectly sorted mail may cause delays in the delivery process. In addition, because the hanging dividers do not remain with the tray during delivery, a mail carrier delivering directly from the tray may spend extensive amounts of time re-dividing the mail according to destination during delivery. The extra time spent re-dividing the mail is inefficient.
It is accordingly a primary object of the invention to retain the accuracy of the sorting process and to reduce the time associated with delivery of the sorted mail. These objects are achieved by providing a tray assembly that includes a divider assembly connected to a tray and that can remain with the tray during delivery.